Contest Doubles as Benefit
Update: The event has been postponed until Sunday due to rain in the forecast.
Surfers, philanthropists, and spectators alike are hoping for waves on Saturday — the date of the East End Foundation’s 19th annual Rell Sunn Surf Contest at Ditch Plain Beach in Montauk.
“Rell Sunn was a beloved Hawaiian surfer who fought breast cancer for 14 years, and she died in the beginning of 1998,” said Alice Houseknecht, the assistant to Roger Feit, a co-founder of the East End Foundation. “Before she died, she was an advocate for women’s health, and she worked with other women to get the word out as far as knowing if you have the signs, and what to do about it.”
The contest, which welcomes all levels of surfing, includes Menehune (the Hawaiian word for little people), Body Board, Menehune Surf Board, Long Board, Stand-Up Paddleboard, Short Board, and Wet, Wild, and Whatever You Want to Ride or Wear categories.
Selena Moberly, 20, a Montauk surfer who grew up competing across the country, last took part in the Rell Sunn contest when she was 13 but is considering signing up again this year.
“It’s a really cool contest, and it’s different than other ones,” said Moberly, who is a brand ambassador for Jetty, a surf and skate apparel brand. “You don’t have to be super good because it’s just fun. There’s no pressure, and a lot of people usually show up for it.”
In continuing Rell Sunn’s legacy of community outreach, every year the East End Foundation’s main fund-raising event is the surf contest in her honor. All of the proceeds go to the charity, and this year at least 100 participants are expected.
Since its founding in 1997, the foundation has helped an estimated 44 families in need of financial assistance as a result of either debilitating illness or hardship. Currently, it is supporting a recent high school graduate who lost both parents but is determined to go to college, a young mother struggling to meet the insurance co-pays associated with her toddler’s surgery, an artist who is out of work while recovering from eye surgery, two women who have cancer, and two orphaned kids who are being raised by their neighbor.
In addition to the day of surfing, there will be a raffle after the contest, with prizes including surfboards, restaurant gift certificates, hotel stays, and retail items.
The foundation will also host an art auction featuring works donated by East End artists. It takes place at the Atlantic Terrace Gallery on Aug. 19 from 5 to 8 p.m., with refreshments and music by Jetty Koon.
Registration for the contest opens at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, with the surfing beginning between 9 and 10 and ending around 4 p.m. The fee for online entry, which closes today, is $25. The cost on the day of the event is $55. Each individual contest entry is an additional $30.
The East End Foundation has encouraged online registration, which can be done at rellsunn2017.ezregister.com.